The amount of assistance provided by the government and its local counterparts to families affected by the eruption of Mount Kanlaon last December 9 has reached P170.5 million, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.
This includes P109.9 million for Central Visayas and P60.5 million for Western Visayas, according to the agency’s latest situation update.
Aid provided includes family food packs, hygiene and sleeping kits, modular tents, financial assistance, filtration kits and generator sets.
This assistance benefitted 10,026 families in the two regions — 7,545 families in Western Visayas and 2,481 families in Central Visayas.
The affected families are placed at 12,285 living in 27 barangays in the two regions.
Of this number, 3,165 families are now sheltering in 23 evacuation centers while 2,408 families are being aided outside.
100-K family food packs
The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) yesterday dispatched an additional 16,500 food packs to Negros Island to complete its target of 100,000 FFPs for Kanlaon relief operations.
DSWD spokesperson and Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said these food packs would complete the agency’s target stockpile prepositioned in warehouses across the island as previously directed by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian in the wake of the possible eruption of Kanlaon.
“We have dispatched over 73,000 boxes of family food packs since last Sunday. Our VDRC team made sure that we are on track with the target numbers,” Dumlao said in a news release.
She said the agency’s intensified response efforts remain complementary with the preparations led by local government units (LGUs) if Kanlaon’s volcanic activity is raised to Alert Level 4.
As part of its continuing role in the management of evacuation centers, the DSWD 6 (Western Visayas) joined the LGU of La Castellana in Negros Occidental in visiting the Talaptap Elementary School and Nato Soliguen Elementary School on Tuesday, January 14, to evaluate the potential evacuation centers.
“The assessment included evaluating the availability of classrooms, water and energy sources, and portable toilets to ensure the facilities could adequately support the displaced residents, if necessary,” she said.
For its part, the Central Visayas Field Office’s Quick Response Team made the rounds across evacuation centers in Canlaon City to monitor the condition of the evacuees and ensure sustained aid for their everyday needs.
As of press time, the DSWD has extended P77.6 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Kanlaon-affected families and individuals from the 27 barangays in Western and Central Visayas. (PNA)